Causes of spinal collapse in dogs

The main causes of this disease are usually rickets, calcium deficiency, vitamin A poisoning, external force, hyperparathyroidism, senile osteoporosis, spinal lesions, and genetic defects. caused by other related issues.
The three causes of rickets, calcium deficiency, and vitamin A poisoning are interrelated. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to calcium deficiency, long-term insufficient calcium intake, and excessive calcium loss. Excessive intake of vitamin A can lead to malabsorption of vitamin D, thereby affecting calcium absorption. Hyperparathyroidism leads to an imbalance in the calcium to phosphorus ratio in the blood, resulting in high blood phosphorus, hypocalcemia, and abnormal bone development. In addition, dogs with genetic defects can also cause this problem in dogs, so be careful not to use such dogs as breeding dogs.

Symptoms of spinal collapse in dogs

From the name, we can know that this disease is a downward collapse of the spine. In severe cases, it can be felt by direct touch with the hand. Spinal collapse is mostly collapse of the lumbar vertebrae, and collapse of the thoracic vertebrae is occasionally seen. Touch your hands one by one along the spine from the neck to the tail, and you can feel the obvious collapsed areas. When the condition is mild, it can be discovered through lateral X-rays of the spine. X-ray changes include protrusion of the spine from the thoracic spine to the lumbar spine, collapse of the lumbar spine to the sacrum, etc. Sometimes it can be seen that the bones throughout the dog's body are reduced in bone shadow due to decalcification, and the bone density becomes thinner. Occasionally, multiple long bone fractures and pelvic fractures occur.

How to prevent spinal collapse in dogs

1. Avoid long-term feeding of foods with high vitamin A content, high phosphorus and low calcium, such as animal liver, chicken, fish and shrimp, etc.
2. Pay attention to the sun appropriately, but do not go out when the sun is too strong.
3. Control the calcium to phosphorus ratio.
4. Pay attention to moderate exercise and avoid doing exercises that put too much pressure on the spine.